Chapter Text
Odessen
Cianne was standing in the hanger on Odessen and was trying to listen to what Aygo had to say about the daily operations. She really was making an attempt, but her eyes kept flickering towards the shuttle landingpad. Malavai and the children - her children - would arrive at any given moment. Malavai had suggested that he pick them up from Ovech’s ship and prepare them for the fact that their mother was alive and they were going to meet her. Cianne had seen the wisdom in Quinn’s suggestion, but by the stars had she wanted to just jump on that shuttle and run to pick them up herself. Her anxiety was not helped by all the people currently in the hanger - no doubt eager to see the Commander’s tearing reunion with her children - or so Darth Nox had jested. Speaking of which, he was trying to help Lana with something - Cianne honestly had no idea what. She was certain that Lana had told her, but in all honesty she had paid little attention to anything that morning.
She had to chuckle at Lana’s annoyance. Darth Nox had always been crazy about Lana and Cianne knew that Lana loved him - even if the sith would never admit as much. And he was handsome and charming in his own way. Tall, lean, white skin, orange burning eyes (due to dark side corruption unlike Cianne’s), long black hair and a stylish beard, but with a humour that would border on the imbecilic. He was not a simpleton by any means, quite the contrary, but over the years he had formed this facade so that he easier could deceive people. It had made him an absolutely horrible slave! He was probably also the only reason, that everyone had gotten out of their carbonite prisons, and not just Cianne. Lana had only intended to rescue her, but when they passed the room, where Lana knew Nox was kept, she couldn’t make herself leave him behind. With no time to figure out which carbonite block was him they ended up freeing; two jedi, a trooper, a smuggler, a bounty hunter, Darth Nox and Cianne’s sister Janaiya aka Cipher Nine. Escaping Vaylin through the capital of Zakuul with nine people had not been the stealthy plan Lana had initially planned for. Now they all worked with the alliance with the exception of the trooper Colonel Lahek Ka.
Theron, that snoop, was also in the Hangar. He was pretending to help Rozaly, a jedi with the talent for healing. She had been a member of the jedi council, before they all got abducted, and Cianne had come to value her. She had known her since the business on Oricon with the Dread Masters and had gotten to befriend her during their troubles with the order of Revan. The Mirialan had stunning lilac eyes, yellow skin and impossibly long blonde hair kept in braids most of the time. It wasn’t hard to understand why Theron was taken with her, as she was kneeling on the floor taken care of the wounded who had just arrived. Where it was almost impossible to ignore Nox, Rozaly was almost invisible. A jedi trait, Cianne assumed. She was drawn from her thoughts she saw the shuttle finally arriving and she felt sick to her stomach. It seemed to take forever for the stupid shuttle to get into the hangar and for them to disembark. Cianne had to conceal a gasp as she saw them. Little Temperance with the long hair, dresses and round face was gone. Instead there was a young woman with neatly cut short hair and an imperial uniform. Cole had been so little, when she left. She remembered him reaching up to her for her to pick him up. Now he walked quite independently next to his father, and looked like a small copy of him - he looked a little uncomfortable and Cianne could sense his discomfort. Layla was holding her father’s hand almost skipping along. She was wearing a simple pristine white dress with a black belt and her hair braided with perfection. Cianne had to wonder how long that was going to last from Malavai’s description of the girl. And true enough, when Malavai turned to say something to Cole, Layla broke loose from her father’s hand and started running. Quinn tried to stop her, but it was no use.
“Vette! Vette!” the little girl called and it wasn’t until that moment that Cianne saw Vette was further behind in the hangar. Vette looked at Cianne for a moment, looking distressed - no doubt feeling like she had interrupted them. Cianne quickly just smiled and Vette crouched down in time to greet the little girl. Temperance on the other hand went straight for Cianne and gave her a big hug.
“I knew you were alive! I knew it!” she said with a teary voice holding her tightly.
“I have missed you so! Let me have a look at you and see how much you have changed!” Cianne pulled away and ran her fingers through the short black curls, giving her a pout.
“It will grow back!”Temperance laughed.
Malavai walked towards Cianne with an aggravated look on his face, while Cole was standing completely still just looking around.
“This did not go as I intended,” he groused looking at his daughter, who was chattering quickly and loudly with Vette.
“I had no idea they were close,” Cianne stated. Vette had told her she had seen them, but that she didn’t know, where they had gone.
“When you disappeared Vette stayed the longest,“ Temperance began,”Layla and Cole were so young and Uncle tried to look for you. She knew he couldn’t do it all on his own. She had to leave, when the sith infighting got worse,”
“I knew you would not want her to be enslaved, so when she left I gave her enough credits, so I knew she would be able to survive for a while,” Quinn finished, “She has kept in touch over the years and always brought gift for the children on the few occasions she saw us. Layla in particular was fond of her. When the Horizon Guard caught our scent I had no choice but to sever the connection completely,”
“Why were they after you in the first place?” Cianne asked.
“Loreman…” Temperance growled and Cianne gave Quinn a look demanding an answer.
“Later, my love,” he requested looking at their children, and reluctantly she agreed.
“Thank you for watching over Vette as well,” Cianne said softly with a loving smile on her face.
“It was my duty, but let me just get Layla…” and as he said that the girl ran away from Vette further into the base, “before she runs any further,” Quinn sighed with a grim expression on his face.
First few steps he walked and at the sound of something falling he began running. Cianne had to laugh.
“That must be the first time I have ever seen him run without being in imminent danger,”
“You’ll get used to it,” Temperance chuckled, and turned to look at Cole, who was standing on his own in the middle of the room.
“I think there is someone else, who wants to meet you,” she said quietly and Cianne nodded.
She walked slowly over to Cole, whose gaze was fixated upon her. Cianne could feel all the conflicting emotions inside him. The pain in him, the worry and the fear. Like any sith he started channeling it into rage and anger. Cianne felt it clearly, that she was scarcely surprise, when Cole grabbed a nearby young acolytes lightsaber with the force. As soon as the blade reach his hand he activated it and the red glow resonated in his little face.
“You left us!” he cried in his anger before he charged at her.
Cianne held her hand forward and it chilled her to the bone, when she repelled her son in the same way Valkorian had done Arcann all those years ago. Temperance, Lana, Nox, Theron and Rozely stood ready to take action.
“Do not interfere.” Cianne stated loud, but clearly.
Cole began swinging the saber violently against his mother's barrier.
“Good, use your emotion. Release it,” she said softly.
With a scream he raged at her and made a crates fly through the air. It was uncontrolled and clearly showed his lack of experience with the force. Lana and Rozely caught them and made them got to the ground safely. Nox went forward and created a large barrier around the two, while Theron instructed people to leave the hangar.
“What is it that makes your heart burn?” she asked.
“Father waited for you!” he slammed the saber against her barrier.
“Layla needed you! She wanted her mother!” another stroke.
“Temperance, didn’t get to go to school!” he roared, “All because of you!”
“You carried their pain with you all this time…” Cianne felt as if her heart was bleeding, “What of your own?”
Cola faltered and stood completely still looking at her with his saber still drawn. Cianne felt all the emotions jumping around inside him. He had no discipline to focus them and know knowledge of identifying them. He could become powerful, but he had no control or knowledge of how to deal with his powers. Tears began streaming down his little face and Cianne felt his pain keenly.
“Cole!” the sound of Quinn’s voice was loud and strong through the hangar. It was not a shout and it had little emotion to it. It was an order given in a military fashion.
The entirety of the hangar was still as if they had been petrified and Nox removed his barrier. Cole stopped immediately and turned off the lightsaber. He quickly dried his tears, clearly not wanting his father to see them. He did not meet his father’s gaze as he approached them calmly. Quinn put his hand forward and Cole slowly placed the lightsaber in his father’s hand. Cole stood straight and looked like an ensign getting a reprimand, but in his face you saw only a little boy terribly ashamed of his actions.
“I apologise, sir,” he spoke clearly, but the tremble of his little voice spoke volumes. There was no fear in him, but something infinitely more rare - a true respect for the man in front of him.
“I am disappointed in you.” Quinn said sternly with a frown on his face.
“I know, father,” the boy said quietly and Quinn sighed.
Cianne had a glimpse into how their lives had been without her. She saw the respect, stability and love Quinn had managed to create, but for the first time she realized, why Quinn felt he had been lacking. That one bridge he didn’t know how to cross - but Cianne did. She closed the gap between them, and where Quinn was still towering his son, Cianne did the one thing that would have been unthinkable to Quinn - she kneeled down next to their son.
“I am sorry. It was not my choice to leave you. I never meant for you to suffer. Indeed I would tear the galaxy apart to ensure that you never would,” she took her son’s chin and turned his gaze towards her, a replica of her own eyes looking back at her, “But I am here now. It’s going to be alright,”
At that Cole threw his arms around her neck and began sobbing violently, and Cianne wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could without crushing him. She looked up at Quinn with tears brimming in her eyes and what she saw was relief. She completely missed the sound of running footsteps until Layla had thrown her arms around her brother from behind.
“Don’t cry, Cole,” the little girl comforted him, “Temperance, help make Cole feel better,” she ordered her older sister, who obliged with a smile. Temperance walked over and kneeled down to hug them as well.
Quinn looked down at them, desperately trying to keep his calm demeanour, even as a small smile caressed his lips. Cianne made a gesture for him to join them, but he shook his head.
“It would be better to save it for a more private setting,” he objected, and that was when Cianne grabbed his wrist and dragged him down to them and giving him a bruising kiss, making their children giggle. In the background she could hear Theron.
“That’s enough, people. Get back to work!”